Man indicted in $2.5 million mortgage fraud scheme

A federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted a man Tuesday in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in which he allegedly bilked banks out of $2.5 million, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Joshua S. Goldberg was charged with three counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment alleges Goldberg and others, through the Baltimore-based Worthington Mortgage Group, falsified applications and appraisals to get mortgages from 2004 to 2008 on at least five properties. This allowed them to get mortgages that were worth more than the properties themselves, according to the indictment.

Goldberg's former partners, Kenneth Koehler, 42, of Baltimore, and David C. Christian, 62, of Catonsville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will soon be sentenced, the Department of Justice said.

Goldberg is believed to be a fugitive, the justice department said. Baltimore City Paper, which first reported on Goldberg's alleged scheme in 2008, said Goldberg has since moved to Israel.

If found, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.